The Devil's Right Hand

For the whole series: By the gods and kittens, that *censored* hurt.

Seriously excellent world building, really strong character development, a fascinating look at ethics without truth, and just... damn. An impressive and in many ways resonating construct, but I'm literally writing myself a note to never pick this particular series back up again because the price is so damn high.

And yeah, it gets five stars. Because it does what it does so very well. And because so many of the underlying structures are absolutely beautiful.

So Japhrimel really annoyed me in this book. He was pushy, bitchy and all around just annoying. He gets up on his high horse and thinks that because he is a demon- or something- that he knows best. And that means that he does not have to talk to Dante about anything. But other that wanting Dante to kick Japhrimel to the curb I really liked this volume. We get to see more of the world and get a really good idea about how it works. Other non-human species are introduced and are talked about in some detail. In addition we get to see what the devil was doing with Eve from the first novel. The only problem is years have past and we do not know that at the start of the novel and have to figure it out as we go.

I give this book a Five out of show more Five stars. show less

I'm coming back to this review after having burned through the entire Dante Valentine series in just a few short weeks. The first thing I can say is that I liked this installment's pacing better than the previous book, Dead Man Rising. Initially I had fears the characters were going to turn into a Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu pair, only to be pleasantly surprised by the immense complexity of their relationship.

The Devil's Right Hand resumes the story of Dante Valentine some years after her last adventure. She and Tierce Japhrimel, her Fallen demon lover, are hidden away in Toscano country (I guess what Tuscany, Italy is supposed to be called in 600 years?) She's been away from Saint City for years, and only occasionally talks to her best friend show more Gabe over the phone. Japh disappears one night and returns, informing Dante that they are being summoned by Lucifer. When explained they have no choice, our heroine goes with her lover to see the Devil, and it is there that Japhrimel bargains for Dante to become Lucifer's new Right Hand (basically his enforcer) in exchange for her guaranteed safety.

Then of course, SNAFU.

The story pretty much takes off from there, with Dante forced to keep running and fighting for her life with little to no reprieve. The fights were intense, the stakes were high, and the tension maintained--but then again, I never doubted Saintcrow's ability to write action. What had me worried was this strange and seemingly out of place paranormal romance between Danny and Japh. The author even admits, in her appendix in the DV anthology, that Japhrimel was only supposed to be in the first book.

Her change of heart felt like a risk to me, but a compelling one, and in the end, I was glad she took it. Dante and Japhrimel's relationship explores deep and important themes like faith, the essence of truth, and devotion in ways that I think only they could. How many PNR books have you read where a human and inhuman being somehow implicitly understand each other, or their differences made only as a brief obstacle? Dante's humanity is constantly at odds with Japhrimel's inhumanity (not to be confused with cruelty so much as a completely alien way of viewing such basic concepts as what constitutes a lie.) There is also a constant power struggle between the two as they seem to be ever at odds, goal-wise, despite their sincere love for one another.

In summary, this book is awesome and might be my favorite in the series. show less

These books are hitting a lot of my feel-good buttons. Fantastic action, overpowered characters, and a world so chock-full of tech and magic that it feels like Blade Runner had a love child with Kim Harrison's Hollows.

A human turned half-demon necromancer bounty-hunter with demon lover gets mixed up in a plot of Lucifer's. Sound good? Add trust issues between her and her demon lover and throw in some immolations, boss battles, and impossible demon-hunting action and a lot of miscommunication and play-acting, and we've got ourselves a fun novel. :)

Do I like how her lover is back? Yes. Do I appreciate that Dante is whining less? Yes. Do I like how the trust issues keep popping up? ... sort of. It seems realistic but not all that show more pleasant. I want more action and intrigue and big developments, not this kind of drag-ass.

But it ain't bad. Not saying it was bad. I just can't deal with more than one novel's worth. :) Trust your man, Dante! Even if he is a fallen demon. :) show less

When I finished Book 1 I thought, "wow! I can't wait to read the next one." After finishing Book 2, I thought, "I have to tell everyone about this series." Now, after living and breathing this last book for the last ten conscious hours, I feel that same hum of contentment I felt back in the days when Robb's (Roberts's) In Death series was still a new and exciting thing. Danny has all the ass-kicking, hair-pulling appeal as Eve Dallas, with that same core of vulnerability to keep her character credible. Japhrimel is the tall, dark demon who becomes more of a mystery the longer you know him. It's both fascinating and frustrating to watch their relationship develop--I thought I had communication problems. With the added spice of violence, show more otherworldly creatures, and plenty of sass I couldn't be happier. show less

Wow. Things get _complicated_. Also, in this book unlike the previous two, nothing really gets resolved - it's setting up the parameters for the situation in the next book. All her enemies, and her possible allies, are still around and active and needing to be dealt with - she has something of an idea what is going on now, that's all. And knows a little more about Jaf (Japh). Though she's still missing one major point that he's repeated dozens of times - ''while you live, I live'' (and I suspect vice versa). She spends a lot of time looking for loopholes in good things - enough that she even gets mad at herself. Japh's stupid stunt at least focused her attention, so she's got a better chance of seeing what's under her nose. The battles show more are interesting, too - she kept talking, in Dead Man Rising, about how she was way stronger and faster and more able than any normal human - now she's coming up against things where the difference is negligible, she's practically as vulnerable as before. There's a lot of aspects to the story - who's lying about what, who's just being silent, who's the worse danger to her and him and the whole thing. As I said - complicated. I'm eager to read the next book - but it's 1 am and I've got to get up early tomorrow! show less

Okay. Great story, good action, made me think (as usual).

BUT. The character of Valentine was unbelievably irritating for a big part of the book. The character even told herself to quit whining more than once. I don't recall that the previous Valentine books contained so much navel-gazing. This strong, kick-butt bounty hunter turned into a clingy, whiny, truculent child.

Of course, Japhrimel's constant "Trust me" directives with nothing to back them up did nothing to help. If the demon knows the hedaira so well, he should know that you can't expect unconditional trust without giving some sort of explanation or reason.

One of my big 'buttons' in any kind of fiction is the "You just don't understand" statement or the "I'm doing this to show more protect you, don't ask questions" statement. That sort of a 'plot device' is unbelievably condescending. (Screaming, "If I don't understand, then TELL me!")

I was happy with the ending. As usual, there are plenty of strings left hanging, making me look forward to the next book. show less